Pawnee Rock with blue flowers at Cherokee Trail

Pawnee Rock with trees and purple flowers; To travelers on the Santa Fe Trail, this sandstone citadel marked the halfway point of the trail and was one of the most prominent landmarks on their long journey. American Indians were said to have met at Pawnee Rock and reputedly used it as a vantage point to spot bison herds and approaching wagon trains. At times, travelers on the Santa Fe Trail regarded it as the most dangerous place they had to pass. However, it was also a welcome landmark for travelers, signaling that about half of their journey was now behind them. Hundreds stopped to write their names in the soft sandstone beside the ancient drawings that the Indians had engraved before.;